Poultry suspected in food poisonings

For seven months, federal officials have been tracking outbreaks of a particular strain of bacterial food poisonings.

They suspect chicken, but they’re not saying exactly what and who made it.

Here’s what they are saying so far:

“Between March 15 and November 30, 2015, 91 confirmed cases of Salmonella Infantis have stricken Canadians in nine provinces.

“The majority of cases (6 percent) are female, with an average age of 40 years.

“Sixteen people have been hospitalized, and all have recovered or are recovering. No deaths have been reported.

“To date, the source of this investigation has not been identified, but poultry products are food items of interest in the ongoing investigation.

“Further evidence in the investigation is needed to determine the source in this outbreak.”

And what are Canadians supposed to do while we wait for our highly-paid health professionals to do their job? Avoid poultry? Or cook the heck out of all of it and take extreme measures to prevent cross contamination in our kitchens?

It was one thing for the CFIA so be so lax when it was part of the agriculture department where the top people are sympathetic to farmers and food processors. It's another thing for the same attitudes to persist when they're now part of Health Canada.